Combined wall mount and electrical outlet box

ABSTRACT

A combined wall mount and electrical outlet box unit for mounting on a wall surface including a molded plastic combination of a housing having side walls and a front wall, flanges having inner edges proximate the housing and extending outwardly from the side walls, spaced inner walls formed integrally with the insides of certain of the side walls and the front wall to define an electrical outlet box, a preformed opening in the front wall between the inner walls leading to a chamber which constitutes the electrical outlet box, a plate sealed across the inner edges of the flanges for enclosing the rear side of the housing, openings in the plate for receiving wires leading into the chamber of the electrical outlet box, and arcuate score marks on the front wall on opposite sides of the preformed opening.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/914,859 filed Aug. 19,1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,952,610, which is a continuation-in-part ofSer. 08/742,997, filed Oct. 16, 1996, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,920,033, whichis a continuation of Ser. 08/241,764, filed May 12, 1994, now U.S. Pat.No. 5,578,791.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a combined wall mount and electricaloutlet box unit.

By way of background, in the past wall mounts having the general outerconfiguration shown in FIG. 1 of the drawings were supplied with a solidfront wall having score marks thereon. In use, the installer had to cutout an opening in the shape of the perimeter of the electrical outletbox from the front wall. However, this was a time-consuming and tedioustask because the wall mounts were fabricated of tough polyethyleneplastic or metal. Thereafter, a separate conventional electric outletbox was slid into the opening which was cut out in the wall mount. Thisoutlet box was of conventional shape, and, as noted above, it had anouter perimeter which was the size of the opening which was cut into theface of the wall mount. There were no connections between the wall mountand the electrical outlet box other than the contact therebetween at thecutout portion in the face of the wall mount.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is one object of the present invention to provide a combined wallmount and electrical outlet box unit wherein the electrical outlet boxis an integral portion of the wall mount, thereby obviating thenecessity to cut the front wall of the wall mount for receiving anelectrical outlet unit box.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a combined wallmount and electrical outlet box unit wherein the electrical outlet boxportion is much larger than the separate outlet box which was previouslyinstalled into the separate wall mount.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improvedone-piece wall mount and electrical outlet box unit wherein theelectrical outlet box portion is firmly secured to the wall mountbecause it is an integral molded part thereof.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a combinedwall mount and electrical outlet box unit which has a rear wall which isflush with the mounting flange thereof and which serves as an enclosingportion of the electrical outlet box.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide animproved one-piece wall mount and electrical outlet box which has apreformed rectangular opening in its front wall and arcuate score markson opposite sides of the rectangular opening to permit the rectangularopening to be selectively converted to a substantially circular opening.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a one-piecewall mount and electrical outlet box having a preformed opening in itsfront wall and an opening in its rear wall which is centered relative tothe preformed opening for receiving electrical wires. Other objects andattendant advantages of the present invention will readily be perceivedhereafter.

The present invention relates to a plastic electrical wall mount unitfor mounting on a surface comprising a housing, a plurality of sidewalls on said housing, inner and outer sides on said side walls, innerand outer edges on said side walls, a front wall integral with said sidewalls proximate said outer edges of said side walls and extendinginwardly therefrom toward other of said side walls, a flange integralwith said side walls proximate said inner edges of said side walls andextending outwardly away from said outer sides of said side walls, apreformed opening in said front wall, and arcuate score marks on saidfront wall on opposite sides of said preformed opening.

The various aspects of the present invention will be more fullyunderstood when the following portions of the specification are read inconjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the one-piece combined wall mount andelectrical box unit located relative to a wall onto which it is to bemounted;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the combined wall mount andelectrical outlet box unit;

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view taken substantially along line 3--3 ofFIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view taken substantially along line 4--4 ofFIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a rear elevational view of the combined wall mount andelectrical outlet box unit;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary cross sectional view takensubstantially along line 6--6 of FIG. 5 and showing the manner in whichthe back plate is secured to the rear side of the combined wall mountand electrical outlet box unit;

FIG. 7 is a front elevational view of a modified embodiment of thecombined wall mount and electrical outlet box unit; and

FIG. 8 is a front elevational view of a modified embodiment of thecombined wall mount and electrical box unit of FIGS. 1-6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In FIG. 1 the improved combined wall mount and electrical outlet boxunit 10 is shown in the process of being mounted relative to a wall 11of a building. Wall 11 may be an external wall or an internal wall ofwood or masonry. The unit 10 includes a housing 12 consisting of aplurality of walls which includes a pair of opposed side walls 13 and apair of opposed side walls 14. In the present instance walls 13 and 14are all of equal length. Walls 13 have inner sides 15 and outer sides17. Walls 14 have inner sides 19 and outer sides 20. Walls 13 have inneredges 22 and outer edges 23. Walls 14 have inner edges 24 and outeredges 25. The front wall 27 is connected across the outer edges 23 and25 of the side walls 13 and 14, respectively. Front wall 27 includes aninner surface 29 and an outer surface 30. A mounting flange 31 extendsoutwardly from the inner edges 22 and 24 of side walls 13 and 14,respectively. Spaced apertures 32 are located in mounting flange 31 forreceiving fasteners, such as nails 33, for securing the mounting flangerelative to wall 11, or the mounting flange 31 may be secured to wall 11by glue. An opening 34 is located in front wall 30.

An electrical outlet box 35 is formed integrally within housing 12 by apair of spaced inner walls 37 which have front edges 39 (FIG. 1) securedto front wall 27 and they have side edges 40 secured to side walls 14.Thus, electrical outlet box portion 35 is bounded by walls 37 andportions of side walls 14 which lie between walls 37. By virtue of thisconstruction, the outlet box portion 35 is much larger than aconventional outlet box wherein the side walls would extend rearwardlyfrom the edges of opening 34 in front wall 27. This permits box 35 toaccommodate greater amounts of wires. Elongated tubular members 42 aremolded integrally with the inner walls 37 and have bores 42' therein forreceiving fasteners, such as screws (not shown), for securing anexternal member, such as a cover plate or a light fixture or a switch ora plug across opening 34. At this point it is to be noted that all ofthe above-described non-metallic structure is molded from suitableplastic, such as polyethylene, as an integral unit.

To complete the combined wall mount and electrical outlet box unit 10, arear plate or wall 41 is placed into an opening 43 (FIG. 5) which isdefined by the inner edges 44 of flange 31. Plate 41 bears against rearedges 46 of box walls 37 and the ends 54 of tubular members 42. Thiscauses box 35 to be completely closed except for the opening 34 in frontwall 30 and except for the openings 49 in the plate 41. Plate 41 issecured in opening 43 by a PVC heat weld or bond at 45 between theentire edge 47 of plate 41 and the entire contiguous edge 44 of flange31, to thereby provide a seal therebetween against the passage offoreign matter into box 35, especially water. The rear surface 48 ofwall 41 is substantially coplanar with the rear surface 53 of flange 31so that the rear of unit 10 will fit flush against building wall 11. Theopenings 49 are provided in plate 41 for receiving wires, such as 50,which are passed into box 35 after having passed through opening 51 inbuilding wall 11.

After the unit 10 has been mounted on wall 11, the entire outer edge offlange 31 is preferably caulked prior to the application of siding towall 11.

A modified embodiment 10' of the combined wall mount and electricaloutlet box unit is shown in FIG. 7. The unit 10' of FIG. 7 is identicalin all respects to the embodiment of FIGS. 1-6 except that the frontwall 41' is different in that it has a circular opening 34' rather thanthe rectangular opening 34 of the previous figures.

It is to be noted that while the unit 10 is shown in FIGS. 1-5 with theopening 34 having its lengthwise dimension oriented vertically, it canbe mounted with its lengthwise direction horizontally.

In FIG. 8 a modified combined wall mount and electrical outlet box unit60 of the embodiment of FIGS. 1-5 is shown. Unit 60 includes all of thestructure of unit 10 of FIGS. 1-6, and identical numerals representidentical elements of structure. However, unit 60 contains two elementsof additional structure, namely, central opening 61 in rear wall 41 andlight score marks 62 and 63 in front wall 27. The central opening 61permits wires, such as 50 of FIG. 1, to enter the exact central portionof electrical box 35. Score marks 62 and 63 are arcs of a circle havingits center on a perpendicular projection of the center of opening 61into the plane of front wall 27. Score marks 62 and 63 are for receivinga shear for cutting segments 64 and 65 out of front wall 27. Segment 64is defined by chord 66 and arc 62, and segment 65 is defined by chord 67and arc 63. The existence of score marks 62 and 63 permit therectangular opening 34 in front wall 27 to be essentially converted to asubstantially circular opening by the excising of segments 64 and 65along score marks 62 and 63 so that a circular base of an electricalfixture can be more conveniently mounted on front wall 27. While opening61 is shown as being exactly centrally located relative to opening 34 ofthe front wall, it will be appreciated that it can be generallycentrally located so that it is spaced at least its diameter away fromthe sides of opening 34.

It can thus be seen that the combined wall mount and electrical outletbox units of the present invention are manifestly capable of achievingthe above-enumerated objects, and while preferred embodiments of thepresent invention have been disclosed, it will be appreciated that theyare not limited thereto but may be otherwise embodied within the scopeof the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A plastic electrical wall mount unit for mountingon a surface comprising a housing, a plurality of side walls on saidhousing, inner and outer sides on said side walls, inner and outer edgeson said side walls, a front wall integral with said side walls proximatesaid outer edges of said side walls and extending inwardly therefromtoward other of said side walls, a flange integral with said side wallsproximate said inner edges of said side walls and extending outwardlyaway from said outer sides of said side walls, a preformed opening insaid front wall, fastener-receiving members secured within and in spacedrelationship to said side walls, and including a box comprising aplurality of box walls within said housing.
 2. A plastic electrical wallmount unit as set forth in claim 1 including arcuate score marks on saidfront wall on opposite sides of said preformed opening.
 3. A plasticelectrical wall mount unit for mounting on a surface comprising ahousing, a plurality of side walls on said housing, inner and outersides on said side walls, inner and outer edges on said side walls, afront wall integral with said side walls proximate said outer edges ofsaid side walls and extending inwardly therefrom toward other of saidside walls, a flange integral with said side walls proximate said inneredges of said side walls and extending outwardly away from said outersides of said side walls, a preformed opening in said front wall,fastener-receiving members secured within and in spaced relationship tosaid side walls, and a rear wall spaced from and located in oppositionto said preformed opening.
 4. A plastic electrical wall mount unit asset forth in claim 3 including arcuate score marks on said front wall onopposite sides of said preformed opening.
 5. A plastic electrical wallmount unit as set forth in claim 3 including a second opening in saidrear wall.
 6. A plastic electrical wall mount unit as set forth in claim5 including arcuate score marks on said front wall on opposite sides ofsaid preformed opening.
 7. A plastic electrical wall mount unit as setforth in claim 3 including a box comprising a plurality of box wallswithin said housing.
 8. A plastic electrical wall mount unit as setforth in claim 7 including arcuate score marks on said front wall onopposite sides of said preformed opening.
 9. A plastic electrical wallmount unit for mounting on a surface comprising a housing, a pluralityof side walls on said housing, inner and outer sides on said side walls,inner and outer edges on said side walls, a front wall integral withsaid side walls proximate said outer edges of said side walls andextending inwardly therefrom toward other of said side walls, a flangeintegral with said side walls proximate said inner edges of said sidewalls and extending outwardly away from said outer sides of said sidewalls, a preformed opening in said front wall, and a box comprising aplurality of box walls within said housing.
 10. A plastic electricalwall mount unit as set forth in claim 9 including arcuate score marks onsaid front wall on opposite sides of said preformed opening.
 11. Aplastic electrical wall mount unit as set forth in claim 9 including arear wall -located within said side walls in opposition to saidpreformed opening.
 12. A plastic electrical wall mount unit as set forthin claim 11 including arcuate score marks on said front wall on oppositesides of said preformed opening.
 13. A plastic electrical wall mountunit for mounting on a surface comprising a housing, a plurality of sidewalls on said housing, inner and outer sides on said side walls, innerand outer edges on said side walls, a front wall integral with said sidewalls proximate said outer edges of said side walls and extendinginwardly therefrom toward other of said side walls, a flange integralwith said side walls proximate said inner edges of said side walls andextending outwardly away from said outer sides of said side walls, apreformed opening in said front wall, said side walls being ofsubstantially equal length, and a box comprising a plurality of boxwalls within said housing.
 14. A plastic electrical wall mount unit asset forth in claim 13 including arcuate score marks on said front wallon opposite sides of said preformed opening.
 15. A plastic electricalwall mount unit for mounting on a surface comprising a housing, aplurality of side walls on said housing, inner and outer sides on saidside walls, inner and outer edges on said side walls, a front wallproximate said outer edges of said side walls and extending inwardlytherefrom toward at least certain other of said side walls, a flangeproximate said inner edges of said side walls and extending outwardlyaway from said outer sides of at least certain of said side walls, apreformed opening in said front wall having a first dimension, and aspace within said housing which has a second dimension which is largerthan said first dimension, said space being within a box having aplurality of box walls located within said side walls.
 16. A plasticelectrical wall mount unit as set forth in claim 15 including arcuatescore marks on said front wall on opposite sides of said preformedopening.